Erdogan: Turkey doesn’t recognize annexation of Crimea

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan assured Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko that Ankara respects territorial integrity of Ukraine, and does not recognize the annexation of the Crimea by Russia.

“We did not recognize and do not recognize the illegal annexation of the Crimea,” Erdogan said during his visit to Kiev.

Turkey continues to monitor the situation with the Crimean Tatar people, and also continues to coordinate the Crimean issue with Ukraine, assured Erdogan. In addition, Turkish president expects to increase trade with Kiev to $10 billion by 2023. At the present the turnover does not exceed $3 billion.

In Kiev, Erdogan and Poroshenko signed a number of agreements on cooperation. Among them is an action plan for the development of bilateral relations for 2017-2019, a memorandum on cooperation between the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country and the Diplomatic Academy of Turkey, an agreement between the governments on amending the treaty on mutual assistance and investment protection, a protocol between the governments on amending the agreement on avoiding double taxation and preventing tax evasion on income and property.

The Presidents of Turkey and Ukraine also agreed to coordinate actions on security issues in the Black Sea region.